This book updates and thoroughly details the most important recent trends in civic architecture and planning, but does not limit itself to this; time-honored precedents, in some cases centuries old, are referenced. This massive, encyclopedic display, drawn from over 200 international sources, has been carefully selected for use not only by trained professionals but for everyone involved in the shaping of cities and the built environment. Numerous examples culled from the works of such notable architects as Arata Isozaki, Frank Gehry, Robert A.M. Stern, Rob Krier, and many others cover all aspects of the environment, from large regional concerns down to details of the private realm.
History and art intertwine in this celebration of the San Francisco Art Commission's promotion of public art through eight decades of political, social, and economic changes. Wels specializes in history and is a resident of the city. Abundantly illustrated and will intrigue those who live in San Francisco, those who just visit and leave their heart, and anyone involved with cities and public art.
"Art and the City" explores the contentious relationship between civic politics and visual culture in Los Angeles. Struggles between civic leaders and modernist artists to define civic identity and control public space highlight the significance of the arts as a site of political contest in the twentieth century.
"From an incomplete composition of brick buildings and informal gardens into an ordered landscape of white classical temples, the image of Washington, D.C., was transformed by visionary planning and implementation in response to the political and artistic movements of the early twentieth century. The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts was created by Congress in 1910 as an independent design review agency to guide the ongoing work of representing national ideals in the design of the capital city ... This comprehensive history explores the evolving role of the Commission of Fine Arts in the context of the artistic, social, and political circumstances that fostered the commission's creation and the subsequent trends that have informed its decisions."--Description from dust jacket.
The relationship between culture and urbanism has been the focus of much discussion and debate in recent years. While globalisation tends towards a homogeneity, successful 'global cities' have a strong individual - and particularly cultural - identity. The economic value of the culture of cities lies not only in the arts taking place there but also in the city’s fabric, its architecture, and in its cultural heritage. This volume brings together a team of leading specialists to examine the policies of image and city marketing which have developed over the past 15 years and whether these are a continuity of earlier strategies. Featuring case studies which illustrate diverse perspectives on linking culture, urbanism and history, the book reviews heritage and planning culture, looking at the experience of urbanism in the 'Old Historic City'. The book also assesses the increasingly important issue of urban images and their influence on planning strategies.
City Design describes the history and current practice of the four most widely accepted approaches to city design: the Modernist city of towers and highways that, beginning in the 1920s, has come to dominate urban development worldwide but is criticized as mechanical and soul-less; the Traditional organization of cities as streets and public places, scorned by the modernists, but being revived today for its human scale; Green city design, whose history can be traced back thousands of years in Asia, but is becoming increasingly important everywhere as sustainability and the preservation of the planet are recognized as basic issues, and finally Systems city design, which includes infrastructure and development regulation but also includes computer aided techniques which give designers new tools for managing the complexity of cities. This new, revised edition of City Design includes a larger format and improved interior design allowing for better image quality. The author has also included wider global coverage and context with more international examples throughout, as well as new coverage on designing for informal settlements and new research conclusions about the immediacy of sea level rise and other climate change issues that affect cities, which sharpen the need for design measures discussed in the book. Authoritative yet accessible, City Design covers complicated issues of theory and practice, and its approach is objective and inclusive. This is a comprehensive text on city design ideal for planners, landscape architects, urban designers and those who want to understand how to improve cities.
